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The Seven Cures For A Lean Purse

Here are the 7 cures for a lean purse, from the book ” The Richest Man in Babylon” by George S. Clason. Practical advises for daily living – which many of us in our youth may have disregarded to our dismay now that some of us are in the twilight zone of our life. Perhaps we can teach this to our children?

The First Cure : Start Thy Purse to fattening (as applied to our times – it is a very wise idea to payour self, so to speak – from our own income, by saving at least 10%, or any percentage for that matter – of all our income every month regardless of the amount). This concept of setting aside a regular amount can be done through a refutable retirement fund company – one that will not turn belly-up up years from now, though – like some unmentionable names recently in the news!

The Second Cure : Control thy expenditures (by proper budgeting it means that we can prioritize expenses to pay just for our necessities, enjoyment, and other worthwhile desires – without spending more than 9/10ths of our earnings). In other words, determine our personal musts and wants – and spend only for themusts! This way it is possible to save even more than the 10th of our income. This is the concept of delayed gratification!

Easier said than done, in this consumer driven, hard-sell marketing, commercialized Christmas season! Self control to the max – without sacrificing quality of life. Hard, yes – but who is it that said ” life is not a bed of roses ” anyway?

The Third Cure : Make thy gold multiply (invest so that we can make our savings earn more for us constantly, i.e…a passive income). It is like fattening a pig to be sold in the market when it grows big.

A friendly reminder though: may be we can ask for some advice from experts where and when to invest? Invest in real estate? Sure to appreciate, investment very safe, but hard to liquidate. Invest in the stock market? Can appreciate very fast, easy to liquidate, but also easy to lose.

It is axiomatic that the higher the yield, the greater the risk, right? Risk versus yield analysis? In the end our stomach wins – because our investment decision may depend on what risks we can stomach.

The Fourth Cure : Guard thy treasures from loss (The wise man says: invest only where our principal is safe, or reclaimable, if we so desire to liquidate – or convert to cash our investment, not to kill it! Consulting with wise guys (not the mafia type, though!) before investing is wise to the max indeed.

It is better to have a constant but safe, even though low yielding investment, than a high risk investment that may endanger our principal. Even the neighborhood China-man says in Visayan dialect “bisag gamay basta kanunay” (or in direct unadulterated and unvarnished English transliteration – even if small but always,always– we get the drift right?)

The Fifth Cure : Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment (Own our own home. This will give us lesser expense, and thus more capital for our investments. Also, it will give us certain feeling of contentment, confidence, and pride – things which money can buy!).

But do not mortgage your house to raise capital for a half-baked investment scheme, or for any scheme for that matter! Many would be investors, but now homeless squatters, or renters, can attest to that. Our home is our castle, our Shangri-la … our refuge in this crazy and unforgiving world … maybe it is wise not to pawn it for an elusive dream?

The Sixth Cure : Insure a future income (Provide in advance for the needs of our growing age and the financial protection of our family in the future). A chess match is won when the masters think many steps ahead.

The seventh Cure: Increase thy ability to earn (We can cultivate our own power to earn more, to study and become wiser, to become more skillful). Attend seminars and workshops, learn a new skill! Read books, familiarize with new ideas, or surf the internet, i.e… TED Talks.

The internet e-marketing is booming! Soon the malls will be a thing of the past, as we go into virtual shopping, 3D printing, universal GIS – in the utopian near future, hoping of course, that we are still around when that happens.

These are the practical advises of Arkad, the richest man in Babylon. Still useful for us today in these times of financial insecurity, right? Applicable regardless of age, and situation in life.

The secret of a financially successful person (defined herein broadly as a person who attained financial sustainability, and one who is able to enjoy his wealth) lies in very simple steps consistently applied early in life,such as those suggested by Arkad, the richest man in Babylon.

The ability (and capability) to enjoy wealth is a requisite to true success – for what would be the use of our money if we cannot enjoy it?